'We owe residents an apology'

[rick]

COREY LAROCQUE

Local News - Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Updated @ 10:05:40 AM

Pumping raw sewage - including untreated human waste - into the Niagara River after heavy rainstorms has been going on for years. And city council members have known about it all along, according to staff reports politicians have approved.

"We owe the residents an apology. We should have known," said Coun. Carolynn Ioannoni, reacting to a Review story about sewage discharged into the rivers.

Some politicians said this week they weren't aware of the practice until Saturday's story. But official reports show they have been informed when it has happened and politicians have even approved a $10-million project aimed at alleviating much of the problem.

Mayor Ted Salci said he has known for years about the practice, though he doesn't like that it has to be done. Most other communities have to do the same thing when their sewage treatment plants are overwhelmed. Halifax and Vancouver discharge raw sewage into the oceans. Beaches on Lake Ontario, including those in St. Catharines, are sometimes closed due to high bacteria counts after summer storms, he said.

"Obviously, when you pump from a sanitary to a storm sewer it goes to the outfalls," Salci said Tuesday.

"That's why I have been harping on infrastructure," said the mayor, who made sewer replacement a campaign issue in 2003 and 2006.

He said he was surprised when other politicians said they weren't aware it was going on.

"I don't know what they don't know," he said.

Niagara Falls pumped 11 million litres of sanitary sewage into the Niagara River, Welland River and a creek on the city's west side, following a major storm Dec. 1, last year. It was a combination of sanitary sewage and water from areas where rainwater gets into the sewers intended to take human waste to treatment plants.

There were five other similar incidents since July 2004.

When sewers get backed up, the immediate risk is it will cause basement flooding. To relieve the pressure on the sanitary sewers, city workers pump the sewage into storm sewers, which empty directly into the rivers.

When The Review reported several examples of the ongoing problem, several councillors said they knew sanitary sewage was a problem during storms over the years, but politicians have focused their attention on helping homeowners who have had sewage flood their basements.

"Nobody thought to ask the followup question, further down the line, where does the storm sewer go?" Coun. Janice Wing said.

Pumping sewage from a sanitary sewer into a storm sewer is the "lesser of two evils," municipal works director Ed Dujlovic told council Monday. Ontario's environment ministry and public health departments agree it's better to pump sewage into waterways than to have it back up in basements, Dujlovic said.

There have been numerous reports over the years that have referred to the practice of emergency pumping, he said.

But the reports often use technical language. For example, a Sept. 19, 2005 report described the city's response to a heavy rainstorm, Aug. 31. Pump crews were sent to the Kalar Road area "to provide relief to the sanitary sewers..."

"Pump crews relieved the sanitary sewer in the Lexington Court area by pumping excess sanitary sewer flow to the local storm sewer."

A Jan. 23, 2006 report about splitting the $20-million cost for a new treatment facility with regional council also mentions the practice. The report referred to 425,000 cubic metres of combined sewer overflow "being discharged on an annual basis to the Niagara River."

Staff reports have hindered politicians' understanding of the situation, said Wing.

"If they had phrased it differently, we would have caught it. We didn't catch the full implications of it. They could have spelled it out differently," Wing said.

Part of the municipal works department's response will be a report for council that explains the terminology, history and function of the city's sewer system.

"Let's call it Sewer 101," Dujlovic said. "They may simply have not understood some of the terminology."

[Guest fishstick]

And to wonder what's going on in other cities in the Niagara Region....

A $20 million facility shouldn't be a problem with 2 casinos and of course, with no rise in taxes for the residents of niagara Falls.

Makes the thought of eating a small fish even more appetizing....

[smerchly]

The pro Tower people think jobs (min wage) first and the big bucks that the business people will make ......sewage is secondary . If you follow the mud -line comming from the Niagara River as you can see on my last NOAA map , the river outflow follows the shoreline past Rochester and along the American side of Lake Ontario. Those beaches must be closed down all the time ! And probably, some of that pollution comes from their side if the Niagara also . Our sewage systems are not keeping up with population growth .....I wonder how the huge cities like LOs Angles etc .handle the sewage problem.

[Guest canadadude]

The Port Tower Project is all about money, the investers who purchased all that property just want to turn a big buck and walk away They make it sound like port is going to benefit from this developement which is the furthest thing from the truth,for some reason they feel Port Dalhousie will become a hub of tourism and a major shopping district Get a grip you can't hardly drive through there now and parking is impossible!!! It's just some rich investers who are going to ruin port for big bucks and our useless incompetitent local gvernment gets sucked right in I whish the trouties down in port were as easy to hook as the St Catharines City Council

L.A dumps there crap in the ocean thats why most of there beaches are polluted and have closurers!! They have same problems but on a larger scale as we have locally

[nittro]

Albeit on a smaller scale, MOST OF US contribute to the problem every time we wash our car/truck in the driveway.

All of those chemicals are washed into the storm drains and into our lakes untreated.

I believe it was Trout Unlimited that launched a program painting yellow fish sihouettes on storm drains to remind the public not to dump chemicals, old oil, etc.

[Guest canadadude]

Albeit on a smaller scale, MOST OF US contribute to the problem every time we wash our car/truck in the driveway.

All of those chemicals are washed into the storm drains and into our lakes untreated.

I believe it was Trout Unlimited that launched a program painting yellow fish sihouettes on storm drains to remind the public not to dump chemicals, old oil, etc.

Use biodegradable soap or be like me let the rain wash it I know my cars filthy but I'm an enviromentalist don't you know

[Guest fishstick]

They make it sound like port is going to benefit from this developement which is the furthest thing from the truth,for some reason they feel Port Dalhousie will become a hub of tourism and a major shopping district

No offence to anyone who has been born and raised in the St. Catharines area....but this town is a dead end street. There is no future for the youth, or for that matter....the mid 20-50 year olds. Unless you have been in GM for the last 20-30 years, there are no options. Downtown St. Paul Street is a bust (which "should" be our major shopping district, Queenston Street is the epitamy of losers row, and the prime development land located at 4th Avenue and Martindale Road is being sucked up by companies which offer nothing more to locals than being a salesperson. No type of business to train or educate anyone....just sales.

I grew up north of Toronto, and we had a population of about 64,000 in 1988. The town decided to sell off some farmland and the place erupted. Last time I checked, there was a growth in population to almost 500,000 in 15 years. The money is out there that companies want to spend for expansion....you just have to limit as to how much land you want to selloff. It's a shame that most in the area are so set on retaining that Niagara Grown fruit and vegetable label. St Kitts is, and always will be the No.#2 place to retire in Canada.

So unless you're ready to collect your pension....pack quick and get the hell out. Unfortunately my situation won't allow me to do so, but if it did....I would've been gone 15 years ago.

As I said, no offence to anyone. I have met alot of great friends here, especially on NFN....but, I'm one that's not afraid to tell it like it is.

That's my rant.

Btw....now, see how a few posts can turn ones views about sewage into ones perspective on a place not to live.... way to go canadadude....always causing a ruckus....

[Sharpie]

Fishstick....that is why my wife and I have enlisted in the military (and hopefully end up in Pettawawa).

Tommy Have you ever been to Pettawawa. I have been there. My sister and brother in law live there for 5 years. They have now transfered to Halifax. Both are in the Navy. When they lived there the in law went to Afganistan twice For 6 months at a time. There's not much to do in Pet. If your a Red Neck you will fit in real well. If not then you better keep your fishing gear. Lots of good fishing there. We went for a week 2 summers ago. Had a get time fishing. But the bugs could carry little kids away.. And don't worry you will get the call to go on your tour of duty everybody does